Seib & Wessel: U.S. Impotent Over Egypt Bloodshed

8/16/2013 11:20AM

WSJ's Jerry Seib, who reported from Cairo in the 1980s, says the violence in Egypt underscores U.S. impotence in Egypt and that President Obama's bet that continuing military aid to the country would give him influence has failed.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

the ... the lights we ... earlier this week ... for years and street scenes are just really tragic and indices in Egypt I don't think any of us who live there when I didn't these can manage and extension illuminate between Islam is in the military ... it was a fairly simple place and now it's a totally blown up I think the other thing is most striking to me ... is that I've never seen in our lifetimes really since the early seventies a reduced U S influence in Egypt the salon ... and Pres Obama had been up this week and sent to say we wish that violence would stop ... in Egypt ... but it's really the problem the Egyptians and ... um we can't really control it was pretty strange ... to think the president is ... going to be used to this calculating that he had cut off aid to Egypt which is substantial ... where the military coup occurred to me this with that that that is out there now already in fact I think Senator John McCain is restarting to say this that ... we should maybe ... we should stand up for what was right at the beginning and end up with that intention of unaltered but to be fair the president had his teammate is the one that ... really isn't this the Saudis among others were urging him on him which was to ... maintain your influence keep the aid flowing keep good relations with an option that's the only way you'll have to deleverage and that's the way we're points weaker at so that was that half the president of will try to what would express unhappiness but will keep ties alive and vibrant ... and outlook into some influence with the military well ... it turns out it didn't get much enforcement military and now the Street in Iraq are places in the path ... of peace he had to endure the military ... leadership and in Cairo by speaking out so strongly against what's happened in the streets this weekend to get a choice on that ... but at the same time um you know he's he's basically ... convince both sides of us is for the other party the Morsi supporters think we didn't support them the Army thinks we've ... betrayed them ... in and the steady pressure of home of the Carnegie anyway so he's got no good options worth ... dying for Americans in the bleachers see this the scene is in Cairo or just even more confusing as it was hard enough for your average American cigarette who are the good guys who were the bad guys and for many many years Egypt was the circa bulwark of stability in the Middle East and you know was clear ... I'm ... that kind of who our friends and foes where but now it's just it's really hard and I don't think President Obama has helped Americans figure out ... you know where our interest lies here because I'm not sure ... the White House ... answers lie in ... in a stable democratic each but that's fine but you get from here what's the best answer the lot of grief ... from them ... well that's really the question when you talk about people who ... don't know ... who are friends or foes they're a lot of designers who don't ... I mean John McCain has already is the sensor started talking about well maybe ... you know that Egypt should go ... the worse a cutoff time U S aid to Egypt which ... is a really big chunk of change that would be a big change ... aam and ... you know ... the other thing is another's material multifunction confidence in the options and what the Saudis Israeli sneak in some sense Europeans sandwiches ... you know keep the lines open so you can have some communication some influence of this month and the consensus view of Congress on ... what's ... right ... and this is really pushing it keeps the door yes that they're they're probably the most important lobbyists ... is either the last laugh or for other other levers to come from ... he noted ... I don't think there are many levers left that's the problem I mean ... there was one of the you know what Americans think was a big deal he's in for a long time out in the St and and right now that doesn't matter so much this is the said ... everybody thinks the Americans are against ... Morsi's supporters that they tend to sympathetic to the military because we kept it ... going ... not because we bailed out on them in this state of the president this week pretty harshly condemning ... the content in the Syrians ... that's coming in as the military that were not foreign to me and so ... um I don't think their local efforts it's it's really striking the Saudis write much bigger Ajax these days to the Egyptian government and the Americans ... so with